Martha

It all started one Saturday night. As previously mentioned in .thebeginning I was bored and looking through Instagram. I had seen the van before but it never really sunk in how freeing it would be to have a camper van. I could stay anywhere I wanted (the side of the road included) Originally I had really wanted a VW van in teal blue, sorta like this one 

But alas, I was quickly brought to my senses that an old van that doesn't have a good powerful motor was probably not the best way to travel the mountains (no matter how cute the Instagram pictures would be). So I began to look at other models, preferably a newer van so I wouldn't need to worry about it breaking down!

Mercedes Sprinter vans's seemed to be the most popular option. Unforutnately after realizing how expensive (and time consuming) it would be to convert a Mercedes Cargo van to a camper I decided to go for something pre-build. That way I could just "touch it up" and make it my own. Dad was a fan of this plan, considering he would have been my biggest helping hand in the conversion.

I took to Kijiji and found this precious Jem 

It wasn't new, the inside lacked luster, but it was cheap, and it had a fridge!! Plus it was a great option to see if I even really liked "van life"!! My amazing best friend K and her father went and checked it out for me (because I was trapped at work) and after getting the A-OK from them, (and of course my own father) I decided to buy it!! I named her Martha.

I was overjoyed, I felt so incredibly free, I could go anywhere I wanted! So I planned another trip to Vernon with M!! This time we would be stopping at my favorite summer attraction, Fort Steele BC!

Unfortunately the day I was supposed to be picking up Martha, I had a very stressful run in with Pid. I had known I would have to see him that day, but I didn't expect the reaction I had. There was a large group of people around and all of them were asking me too many questions. 

I panicked. So I quietly grabbed my things and left. 

The first stop, my dad; because who else do you turn to for comfort and support when you're hurting? Family. 

I held it together pretty well, until I saw the concerned look on my dads face. Then the water works started.. I was so frustrated because I wanted so badly to not care anymore and to be this strong girl who moved on so seamlessly from the whole situation. My poor dad was so shocked by my reaction because as I said before, everyone thought I was fine. 

The bandaid ex-cation trip had done a marvelous job of making it look like I was back to being my happy bubbly self. One little tear and the whole bandaid façade came crashing in on me. After all I hadn't actually let myself think about the whole situation since the day I left on the excation. 

A four hour nap later I felt much better and quickly jumped up and started packing for the first Martha trip!! My amazing sister M had done a lot for the ground work so we were able to pack things into the car and take off!! A mere 3 hours later we were in Edmonton getting some last minute supplies for the trip!! Another 3 hours of running around the city and we were on the road again! Heading straight for Calgary!

We picked up K on the way and piled her and M into the front seat of my tiny car! It was around 1 in the morning at this point! (Needless to say I'm super glad I took that nap earlier in the day!!) 

By time we got the "crash course to RV-ing" from the previous owner it was 2 am and we were wayyyyy behind schedule! We fueled up and headed straight for Crowsnest Pass! (Big thanks to K's mom taking my car back to their place for my parents to pick up) 

We rolled in around 4:30 am, parked across the street from the registry office and crawled into bed!! Aren't camper vans convenient?! Pull over wherever you want and crawl into bed!! I was smitten already. Martha was already helping me feel much better after a manic day of emotions!